"A Number of Gunshots" Fired at RiverSplash

To me, this is a really big deal.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The unofficial launch of Milwaukee's summer festival season was marred over the weekend by what officials believe was the first-ever shooting at RiverSplash, a downtown festival generally regarded as safe during its 19-year run.

A RiverSplash spokeswoman said Sunday that more information about Saturday night's shooting, as well as bottle throwing at police, needed to be gathered, but that she didn't expect the incidents would cause any major changes in the three-day festival.

A police official, however, said police today would discuss whether the festival should have an earlier closing time - currently 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

"It is no longer a celebration when you have people getting shot," Capt. Michael Young said.

Yes, when people get shot, that's not good. It's not a celebration.

Young described a chaotic scene shortly after the festival closed Saturday. The streets were filled with people who were "drunk and scared," he said.

Multiple arguments broke out among crowds of people near N. 3rd St. and W. Highland Ave., a number of gunshots were fired, and an 18-year-old man was shot in the foot about 11:40 p.m., Young said. He said he did not know if the man had been involved in any of the arguments.

About midnight, just blocks away from the shooting, people began throwing beer bottles at police near the 1000 block of N. Water St., Young said. One bottle hit a 28-year-old, seven-year officer, who was treated for pain and swelling in his forearm, Young said.

Young said he did not have figures on the number of arrests at the festival, but that numerous disorderly conduct arrests were made.

That's horrible!

Why would people start throwing beer bottles at police?

I can't get over this: "Multiple arguments broke out among crowds of people near N. 3rd St. and W. Highland Ave., a number of gunshots were fired..."

A NUMBER OF GUNSHOTS WERE FIRED!!!

How many gunshots? How many is "a number"?

I think calling the situation chaotic doesn't quite capture what was happening. Chaotic is too kind. It was a potentially deadly scene. Thank God no one was critically injured or killed.

...Some festival-goers said RiverSplash had too many people and too little security in the hours leading up to the shooting.

That may be. Too many people and not enough control can result in problems, but the problems stemming from that shouldn't include something as dramatic as gunfire.

...Marsha Sehler, a spokeswoman for Riversplash, said the shooting and bottle throwing are a concern, but they should not be a black mark on an event that has generally been very safe.

"It is completely an isolated event; it happened after hours," Sehler said. "But it doesn't mean we won't get together and look at the issues and see what we can learn, and we will plan accordingly."

Sehler said she is not aware that there had ever been a shooting connected to the event, which she said has sufficient security. She said she did not think the problems would lead organizers to make changes such as an earlier closing time, or charging an admission fee, but that more information about the incidents would have to be gathered.

I understand Sehler's effort to paint the shooting as an isolated event. RiverSplash isn't the problem. The thugs in attendance were the problem.

Whether or not security was sufficient is a big question. I think it's difficult to make the argument that security was sufficient because clearly crowd safety and control were not maintained.

As soon as there were signs that the crowd was becoming unruly and the security forces in place weren't able to handle the situation, lots of police should have swooped down on the festival.

Did festival organizers fail to recognize the gathering threat?

..."We take great pride in this festival because we've done it a long time and because it's in the center of our city," Sehler said. "This is a real city festival, and it's been free from when we started it. Everybody's welcome. It's a chance for people to be together in the city."

The event's major sponsor, Miller Lite, plans to continue its support, said SABMiller spokesman Julian Green.

Ald. Robert Bauman, who represents the area, expressed more concern, calling the incidents "extremely disturbing." He said officials would review what happened to see if any changes should be made at RiverSplash or at other festivals.

Sehler seems to be diminishing the seriousness of what happened. I think that's a mistake.

It would be much better to acknowledge that having "a number of gunshots" fired at the festival is an absolute disaster. I think that reaction would be more fitting.

If I were a member of the Milwaukee RiverWalk District, I would be very upset about what happened. I would want to put the word out immediately that thugs aren't going to hijack the festival, that such behavior will not be tolerated at RiverSplash. I wouldn't be focusing on damage control. I would be focusing on making it a safe event.

Sehler's comments that the shooting and the violence occurred "after hours" reminds me of the reaction to last summer's Juneteenth Day violence.

Technically, the violence didn't occur during the Juneteenth Day gathering, but it's splitting hairs to distinguish between what happened before, during, and after. It's the same with RiverSplash. The festival closed at 11:30 PM and the trouble peaked shortly afterward. However, it was still the RiverSplash crowd, just like it was the Juneteenth Day crowd.

The "after hours" excuse is a lame effort to create distance between the violence and the event. It's not like the trouble broke out three hours later and has no association. This stuff happened as the festival was closing. Festival-goers were involved.

It's really unfortunate that thugs soil the reputations of these community events.

Granted, the vast majority of those in attendance behave responsibly, but would you want to get caught in the crossfire of those not behaving responsibly?

No thank you.